The Lounge is rated PG. If you're about to post something you wouldn't want your
kid sister to read then don't post it. No flame wars, no abusive conduct, no programming
questions and please don't post ads.

Yes, the millennium was fun. I was off on vacation with the family and on call for the entire time. Of course, they never called me but were still quite happy to honor the timesheet. Cheapest trip I've ever had!

I never understood how people bought into it but there was an entire industry servicing a completely idiotic need and the more you told them nothing would happen, the more money they'd throw at it. Bizarre.

"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair.nils illegitimus carborundum

Don't forget it's only their "opinion", like their "opinion" that it was a good idea (a triple-A idea, in fact) to give padded mortgages to people who would quite obviously never be able to pay them off.

I don't know why anyone even listens to the rating agencies, any more. They're wrong too often, and when they're wrong, they do a lot of damage (except to their pals with vested interests, I presume -- it's highly likely that these proclamations about countries are just to set things up for their buddies to rape money from hard-working people somewhere).

If they can document convincingly why a country, with millions of people paying taxes, should be downgraded to the gutter, whereas people with mortgages that they'll have to default on should get triple-A, then I might consider giving them some credence, again.

Until then, I ain't a'listenin' no more -- and nor should Spain, Greece, or whatever country is their whipping-boy/corporate-raid-target-of-the-month.